Apocalypse Forecast

"Ground control calling Captain Tom... Ground control calling Captain Tom..."

In the darkness, two figures slowly moved forward.

One of them tiredly carried an excessively long iron whip. His head hung low, sweat dripped onto his stained black shirt, and he looked utterly wretched. The other person, however, seemed to be on a spring outing. He walked with a carefree swagger, bobbing his head, and even had earphones in, happily singing along to his own BGM:

"You're doing fine, now the media wants to know which team you're rooting for..."

The slightly off-tune singing echoed in the eerie darkness, startling a flurry of tiny sounds and the continuous flapping of bats' wings.

But when he turned to look at the pale-faced Shen Yue behind him, he couldn't help but sigh. He walked over, tiptoed, and slung an arm over Shen Yue's shoulder.

"Don't look so down, bro." Huai Shi waved his fist. "Xinhai is counting on us to save it!"

"A First Stage Sublimator and a Third Stage good-for-nothing... you think we can actually do this?" Shen Yue glanced at him weakly. "This isn't a spring outing. I don't want to dampen your spirits, but could you please be quiet for a moment? At least let me have some peace before I die."

"Alright, alright, I know you're upset." Huai Shi sighed, reached into the large hole in his chest, and then... pulled out two cans of ice-cold soda. "Here, bro, have a Coke."

Raven had also stuffed these into the travel pack. Placing such items among a pile of bullets and grenades... God knows what she was thinking. Then again, she probably had no idea what I would think to do with them, right?

It had to be said, other benefits aside, this fridge function was awesome!

The Coke, chilled by Huai Shi's 'body temperature' using a makeshift method, seemed to calm Shen Yue down a bit. After gulping down most of the bottle in one go, he raised his sleeve to wipe his face.

"Sorry for making a fool of myself." He forced a smile. "I've been afraid of fighting since I was young. Even after becoming a Sublimator, I could only handle logistics and support. Jin Mu always had my back... If it weren't for him," he added, "I probably would have died long ago."

Speaking of Jin Mu, his eyes reddened again. After all, they had been partners for many years; in his heart, Jin Mu held an extraordinary place.

"Really?" Huai Shi scratched his head. "No wonder he was still worried about you before he died."

Shen Yue fell silent, then asked uneasily after a long while, "Before he died, he..."

"He went peacefully." Before Shen Yue could finish, Huai Shi interrupted, "I was the one who did it. There was no pain."

Shen Yue's shoulders sagged. He said dryly, "Thank you."

Huai Shi sighed, took Jin Mu's badge from his pocket, and stuffed it into Shen Yue's hand. "Come on, show some backbone, bro! You're a Third Stage Sublimator, after all. He believed in you for so many years. Now that he's gone, don't let him be ashamed."

Shen Yue quickly clasped the badge in his hand as if afraid of losing it, tucking it into his pocket with great care.

However, Huai Shi's encouragement only seemed to make his expression more bitter. "I'll try my best."

Even though he was purely support, he still had basic firearms training and physical conditioning. The boost from his Third Stage Stigma made his physique more than twice as strong as Huai Shi's.

Now, with a travel pack on his back, two submachine guns in his hands, and his body bristling with magazines and grenades, he looked somewhat like a member of a suicide squad. But no matter how you looked at it, he seemed ready to rush into a crowd and pull the pin on a grenade at any moment.

Huai Shi shook his head and didn't demoralize him further.

But if they continued on foot like this, they probably wouldn't reach their destination even after walking for hours.

As they passed a temporarily excavated maintenance station, Huai Shi paused. He spotted something covered by a dust cloth beside a pile of junk, and his spirits instantly lifted.

"Hold on, we've got wheels now!" With that, he jumped off the tracks, squeezed into the maintenance station, and soon, amidst a series of crashing sounds, a manually operated railcar used by maintenance crews was pushed out.

With their combined effort, it slid smoothly onto the tracks, a perfect fit!

Fortunately, times had progressed. The vehicle they found wasn't the traditional hand-pumped railcar often seen in animations about mines in America; this one actually had handles and pedals welded onto it. Although they couldn't find any gasoline for it at the moment, it could still be pedaled!

While Huai Shi circled the railcar, marveling at it, Shen Yue couldn't help but swallow hard. He pointed towards the depths of the maintenance station, at pairs of scarlet eyes awakened by the commotion.

"Are we in trouble now?"

"Don't be scared! We have a car, don't we?" Huai Shi jumped onto the railcar first and beckoned to him. "Quick, quick, quick, get pedaling! As long as we pedal fast enough, they won't be able to catch us!"

No sooner had he spoken than the pile of junk exploded with a bang, revealing a large hole in the wall behind it and a swarm of rats surging out like a flood.

Who had ever seen rats like these? They were the size of wild dogs, each riddled with oozing sores. Their bones protruded, and they desperately let out piercing screams as a grey-black tide of them surged forward, revealing jagged white bones beneath the swarm.

Countless red eyes were fixed on them. In the next instant, the crazed horde of rats sprinted towards them.

At this point, Shen Yue was no longer pondering what 'E' even meant. Without needing Huai Shi to urge him on, he jumped onto the railcar and began to pedal frantically.

With a shrill metallic screech, the railcar suddenly jolted, shaking off the dust between the gears, then rapidly picked up speed from its slow glide. It was like sprinting on a bicycle to get away, dodging chasing siren wails from behind.

It proved that Third Stage Sublimators were indeed Third Stage Sublimators; even the worst fighter among them was stronger than Huai Shi. Huai Shi had only been reveling in his recently boosted strength for a short while before Shen Yue completely outclassed him.

A fierce wind rushed at their faces.

Shen Yue's feet were practically a blur, stamping afterimages on the pedals. The entire railcar groaned under his forceful pedaling, making Huai Shi fear he might overdo it and cause the whole thing to collapse.

This guy... he might actually be a genius when it comes to escaping, huh?

As he stroked his chin, pondering this, he heard Shen Yue's cry of alarm. "Huai Shi, Huai Shi, Huai—"

He kept calling out the young man's name, nearly out of breath, pointing ahead of the railcar in horror. "There are more up front!"

"It's just a name, calm dow— HOLY SHIT!" Huai Shi followed his pointing finger and gasped. "Why the hell are there so many?!"

Ahead of the railcar, at some unknown point, a horde of red-eyed Mutated Beasts had gathered. It was like a grotesque zoo, with rats, wildcats, dogs, rabbits, snakes, monkeys, and even a tiger covered in deformed limbs... At a glance, there was hardly any duplication.

The only thing they had in common was their size—they were enormous. Huge and emaciated, as if after a prolonged period of starvation, they were eager to unleash their Gluttony. Thick, dark green saliva dripped from their mouths. Even the cockroaches were as long as a human arm.

Such a complete Food Chain... If one were to say The Purified People hadn't deliberately cultivated these creatures to please their Lord, Huai Shi himself wouldn't believe it.

The horde of creatures, warped by the dregs of the Abyss until they were mutated beyond recognition, shrieked as they clearly targeted the two tasty morsels that had delivered themselves to their doorstep.

"What do we do?" Shen Yue was on the verge of tears.

"Stop being a wuss! We fight!" Huai Shi pulled a submachine gun from his travel bag and flipped off the safety. "Running means death, not running also means death, so what's there to fear? You just keep pedaling; leave the rest to me!"

With that, Huai Shi raised his voice, "Charge, charge, charge!"

In that instant, he pulled the pin from a hand grenade. Waiting as the distance between them shortened, he forcefully threw it into the surging darkness ahead. An explosive BOOM then erupted from the depths of that darkness.

The blast wave roared, flinging the rats and cockroaches—mere fodder among the horde—into the air, while shrapnel kicked up a spray of foul-smelling blood.

The sudden flare of the explosion illuminated Shen Yue's pale face, contorted by the blast's pressure, and the muzzle flash from the gun in Huai Shi's hands.

"—A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!!"

Amidst Huai Shi's roar, bullets swept out, making blood flower in mid-air. As crimson splashed everywhere, a shadow suddenly descended from the vaulted ceiling above, its gaping, bloody maw aimed at Shen Yue.

It was a Python, as thick as a water bucket.

Even several meters away, the stench was nearly enough to make Shen Yue pass out. Now, as he looked up and saw a giant, pus-covered mouth hurling towards him, he nearly leaped off the railcar in fright.

But immediately after, the snake's head violently shook as a flash of lightning streaked by. The brief flash left a lingering trail in the air, piercing under its jaw and exiting freely before disappearing into the ether.

The next instant, the Python's lower jaw detached from its head. Thick, foul blood gushed like a fountain onto Shen Yue's face, seeping into his mouth, which hung open in shock.

By the time he came to his senses, Shen Yue was already hunched over the railcar, nearly vomiting his guts out.

Even though he was on the verge of fainting with fear, his pedaling never paused for a second; it really was an undeniable talent.

In mid-air, the injured Python convulsed in pain. It fell from the rafters above, thrashing angrily amidst Huai Shi's gunfire, its tail whipping up a howling gust as it swept towards them.

The Fire of the Yin Soul flared to life.

Under the shroud of Apocalypse, Shen Yue wasn't the only one to scream as if he'd seen a ghost; the attacking monsters around them also began to convulse wildly, as if electrocuted.

Within the spreading mist, Huai Shi's left hand swept across the Axe Blade. Sparks flew as the Axe of Anger was raised high, then brought down with a mournful, whistling slash.

It struck like sudden Thunder, shattering everything in its path!

Then, Plasma burst forth. It stained the iron mist, dyeing the eyes of an Evil Ghost crimson!